A review by clovetra
The Color Purple by Alice Walker

emotional hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i am an inch away from crying over that last chapter my heart is breaking in the best way. i understand now why this story is a classic. 
this story captivated me in so many ways. to begin with, i will admit i was not enjoying this story. i found reading through celie’s poor spelling made it quite difficult for me to grasp what was happening, and many times i had to refer to summaries to understand what was happening. but as the novel progresses, you see celie become more educated, and it at least became easier for me to read as the words were spelled correctly. i do have to admit in retrospect i love the concept of displaying a character’s intelligence through purposefully misspelling passages, but whilst i was reading it did become a bit grating. i also found it difficult to understand the time span between events - i struggled to understand the progression of time, but i have a feeling this isn’t an issue on walker’s behalf, but my own.
this was an incredibly beautiful story. i have to say my favourite chapters would’ve been hands down the
letters nettie wrote to celie
, i loved exploring the land of olinka and how
celie’s kids
are fairing over there, especially the plot line with tasha. i also love how celie’s relationship with shug isn’t really questioned in a homophobic way. i know this is historical fiction and i truly was expecting some homophobia, but i was pleasantly surprised & relieved none of the main characters made homophobic remarks. sometimes i just want some wholesome women love, and that’s what this book was.
i will say i did not enjoy seeing how celie’s life was before shug. i know it was necessary to show celie’s character growth, and im not mad at it, but truly that was one of the reasons i think i didn’t enjoy the beginning. it felt like kicking a horse when she’s down.
my god were the side characters delectable. i’ll say easily my favourites were sophia and squeaks, with a cute mention to nettie & tashi. there were a lot of side characters and i will say i have no idea who a lot of them were simply because i lost track.
overall, this was a beautiful stories, covering the lows of celie’s life of abuse at the hands of men, and the highs of celie’s life because of the women she surrounds herself with, and the men around her who have grown to see celie for what she is - a queen.
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